1. Field
The present application relates generally to the operation and design of wireless devices, and more particularly, to the configuration of radio frequency integrated circuit components for improved performance of a wireless device.
2. Background
Modern smart phones and other portable devices have extended the use of different wireless links with a variety of technologies in different radio frequency bands. Intense integration of multiple transceivers in one radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) chip or in one small module is increasingly required by consumer markets. However, as chips and modules get smaller, antenna dimensions remain fixed due to the frequency bands in which they operate. Although antenna sharing is common, a typical smart phone may include two or more antennas to receive and transmit signals in various frequency bands. Inevitably, at least one of the antennas is located far from the device's RFIC, and this distance introduces undesirable trace loss. By reducing trace loss, it is possible that signal quality and/or overall performance of the device with respect to a particular antenna or frequency band can be improved.
Accordingly, what is needed is an RFIC configuration to reduce trace loss in a multi-antenna wireless device.